


Taking Care

by WasteTimeandType



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Book 4, Gen, Hospitalisation, taking care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WasteTimeandType/pseuds/WasteTimeandType
Summary: Bolin visits Mako in the hospital after the colossus attack, and has to take care of his older brother.
Relationships: Bolin & Mako (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

> Old filled request on [my tumblr!](https://wastetimeandtype.tumblr.com/)! I had to cancel requests, sadly, but I'm happy with what I did!

The hospital was relatively quiet right now— as it was just early morning, visitiors hadn’t made their way to the hospital.

Nurses and Healers were milling about the place, and the hospital certainly wasn’t empty. During the evacuation, they’d emptied out every critical patient of every hospital and sent them to the Riverside hospital, where Mako was now along with other injured civilians.

So it was busy, but Bolin was glad to be up this early to miss any throngs of visiting family members.

He walked over to Mako’s ward, where he was surprised to discover his brother awake in his bed, with his arm heavily bandaged beside him, and there was an IV in his good arm.

His hair was mussed, and he looked tired, but he smiled at Bolin.

“Hey, bro,” Bolin asked, “how you doing?”

“Alright,” Mako replied, using his right arm to push himself into a sitting position, but he winced.

Bolin moved over to help, taking a pillow and pushing it behind Mako’s back, and helping him. Mako grunted a thanks.

“You been awake long?”

Mako shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe a couple of hours,” he said.

“Really? You should be sleeping. I was surprised to see you awake,” he said, looking over at Mako worriedly.

“It’s fine. It’s noisy here.”

Whilst it wasn’t exactly quiet, it wasn’t extremely loud either. It was hardly ever quiet on the streets, they’d had to get used to the constant droning in the background, so Bolin was slightly suspicious of his brother's claims. But he decided to not comment any further. “How’s the arm?”

“Okay. Better than what it was,” he said.

Yesterday, after the colossus, the group of them had to take Mako to the hospital, when Korra said she was worried he was going into shock when she was healing his arm. He had needed fluids, oxgygen and some new drugs Bolin had forgotten the name of. Apparently waterbending just wasn’t the fix all Bolin had hoped it would be.

It had hurt that Bolin had to be asked to leave the hospital when Mako was settled in a normal ward, and out of danger. The worry had gnawed him through the night, even if Bolin told himself that Mako was out of the woods and was in the safest place.

“Have you eaten? You must be hungry,” Bolin asked.

“I don’t think I have much appetite,” Mako said.

“Well, I’ll check with a nurse and ask if it’s okay for you eat, and get you something,” Bolin said, and smiled at Mako. His brother tried to protest, but Bolin shook his head. “Sssh, Mako,” he said, and then he grinned. “And Pabu here will keep you company,” he said, as he opened his jacket to release the ferret.

“Bolin! I’m pretty sure Pabu is not allowed in here!” Mako hissed as Pabu chirped beside him.

“Yeah, he wasn’t allowed at the Earth Queen’s palace either,” he said and then winked as he wandered to find a nurse about the food.

He was told that Mako could eat, so he fetched some pork buns from the cafeteria.

He put them in front of Mako on a tray and Bolin ate his in relative silence, and Mako chewed a bite of his own slowly, before setting down the bun and not picking whilst Bolin finished his pair.

“Do you want something else?” He asked. Pork buns were Mako’s favourite, and even though these were hospital food and not the best, he was sure Mako would like them.

“No, they’re fine,” Mako said, “I’m just tired,” he admitted.

“Do you want to try and sleep now? You don’t have to stay up for me,” Bolin said.

“No, I’m awake now,” Mako said. He looked around. “I think it’s time I go home now.”

“What? Mako—“

“The healers and nurses don’t need to be wasting time looking after me when I’m fine,” he said, as he swung his legs over the bed.

“Mako— you need _rest_ —“

“I can rest at home,” Mako said.

“Yeah, but— you need help,” Bolin said.

“I don’t, Bo,” he said then he turned to move his legs across the bed, his weight wobbling as he touched the floor. He pushed himself to stand, but he swayed.

Bolin dived for him before he dropped. “Mako, stop it, you’re not well,” he said, as he hoisted his brother back to bed. “Just— accept that you’re not a bit more time until you’re all right again!”

“I hate the hospital,” Mako muttered.

“Me too,” he said. “But Mako, it’s okay, you know, to be here. Wait until you’re strong enough and your arm hurts less,” and tears began to brim at Bolin’s eyes. “Mako… you almost died.”

“But I _didn’t_ ,” Mako said sternly. “I’m still— I’m still alive,” he protested, and smiled at Bolin, but it seemed so forced, he knew that Bolin knew it, and silence fell. “I’m still alive,” he repeated, not even looking at Bolin anymore, just looking at the curtain in front of him.

Bolin took Mako’s hand. “You’re still here,” he said. “And it’s okay to hurt.”

Mako’s face screwed up, and he turned away from Bolin and out of his reach.

“Mako—“ he said, and Pabu ran over Mako’s face, and Mako squirmed away closer to Bolin.

Bolin clutched Mako’s face and pulled him to look at him.

Yes, those were tears.

“Mako, you doofus,” Bolin said. “It’s okay to cry you know. Especially after what we’ve all been through.”

“I’ve been through worse,” Mako said, and his breath hitched as the tears began to fall from his eyes.

“Maybe,” Bolin said, not commenting on what those past times were. He was sure Mako wouldn’t normally cry, but he was exhausted and it was clear that it everything had done a number on him. “But the now still sucks,” he answered back.

“You have a way with words, Bolin,” Mako said, his breath hitching as he let out a weak laugh, and Bolin smiled in response. Mako didn’t comment any further, and just sobbed into his pillow. Bolin stayed there, moving his hands away from his face and just patting his hand slightly.

Mako was close to setting Bolin off, but he stayed strong in these few moments.

Mako didn’t cry for long, and he soon wiped his face and finished his first pork bun, and didn’t say anything more.

“Get some sleep,” Bolin offered. “I think the more the rest, the quicker you can get out of here.”

He hoped his suggestion would mean something to Mako, but Mako only grimaced. “I can’t sleep,” he said. “Every time I close my eyes I feel like I’m back… in that room, with the vines,” he said, his fingers pulling at his hospital sheets.

“Oh,” Bolin said, and he hated the thought of Mako spending the night alone, panicking at the day that had passed. “Well I’ll be here for you to sleep right now, and so will Pabu.”

Mako rolled his eyes at Pabu as the ferret ran over to his side, so he began to help Mako lie down.

“What are you going to do?” Mako asked, looking guilty. “Don’t stay here—“

“I’ll have you know, I _love_ sleep, and will use any opportunity to get more,” he said, and pulled the hospital chair as close as he could to lay his head on Mako’s mattress when he wanted to.

“That’s not comfortable,” he said as Bolin laid his head on the bed, still seated, to showcase what he intended to do.

“Pfft. _Comfort_. Like we ever needed that on the streets,” Bolin said, and he gently took Mako’s bandaged hand. “ _Sleep.”_

Pabu curled himself by Mako’s head and nuzzled him by his arm. Mako grumbled to himself but did close his eyes, and soon Bolin was met with snoring.

 _Victory,_ Bolin thought, and he laid his head down to sleep beside his brother.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and review if you liked it!


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